Since the introduction of liquid food supplements on the market, many questions have arisen about the appropriateness of their use. In this article we will tell you what they are. For obvious reasons, experienced athletes do not really care about the appropriateness of using liquid nutritional supplements. They have already checked everything on their own experience and managed to calculate. But for novice athletes it is interesting to know how different forms of nutritional supplements differ and which one is still better.
The benefits of amino acids for the body
To begin with, there are four forms of nutritional supplements available today: tablets, powders, capsules, and liquid.
It is important to immediately learn that when diluted with water, an additive of any form that is distinguishable from a liquid, it will not be able to take the form of a liquid. If powdered protein is diluted with water, it will simply dissolve in it, but will not become a liquid form. This is impossible for the reason that the liquid form of the product has special properties, which will now be discussed.
Before starting a conversation about the need for the presence of amino acids in the body, it is worth saying what products are now available that contain them:
- Liquid solutions of amino acids;
- Non-specialized liquid energetics;
- Mineral and vitamin complexes.
Now let's talk about why a person needs amino acid compounds. These substances take part in the synthesis of protein compounds, which is so necessary for the growth of muscle tissue mass. Therefore, amino acids must be present in all servings of food. Otherwise, proteins will be absorbed by the body much worse.
Now a lot of people use various diet programs, preach absolute vegetarianism and other nonsense. They do not realize that they are depriving the body of a large amount of essential nutrients. But there is a way out of this situation. To provide the body with amino acid compounds in the required proportions, nutritional supplements are used.
Varieties of amino acid compounds
A person needs methionine, threonine, lysine and other amino acid compounds. But it is even better when they all enter the body at the same time in the form of an amino acid complex. Tests have shown that it is more effective to consume protein balanced with amino acid compounds.
For a better understanding of the topic of today's article, it is worthwhile to talk in more detail about the most important principles of the synthesis of protein compounds. The main components of this process are free amino acid compounds transported to the human body from the following sources:
- Exogenous amino acid compounds coming from the gastrointestinal tract;
- Endrogenic amino acid compounds, which are the products of the breakdown of protein compounds;
- Amino acid compounds that result from the metabolism between carbohydrates and fatty acids.
In a person, whose body weight is about 70 kilograms, 12 kg are proteins. Of these, about 300 grams are consumed by the body daily. More than 50% of the total weight of all protein compounds in the body falls on muscle tissue and about 20% on liver proteins.
As can be understood from these numbers, most proteins are synthesized in muscle tissues, and the liver is in second place. On average, about 50 grams of protein compounds are synthesized daily in the liver. Consequently, a lack of amino acids in the body can negatively affect the performance of this organ.
Undoubtedly, modern protein mixtures produced by the pharmaceutical industry are balanced in terms of the amino acids they contain. But often there are times when you need to immediately transport amino acids, since there is simply not enough time for the degradation of proteins.
Gluconeogenesis concept
It is well established that the concentration of amino acid compounds fluctuates in accordance with the daily rhythm. The highest blood levels will be at noon, and the lowest immediately after sleep. But with any physical activity, this indicator decreases, which is associated with protein wear of muscle tissues, as well as the process of formation of glucose from protein compounds. This process is called gluconeogenesis. It is worth telling about it in a little more detail.
The liver has the ability to maintain sugar levels thanks to the glucose stores stored in it. This happens about 6 or 8 hours after a meal. During this period, muscle tissue becomes the main source of glucose for the body.
To do this, they have to break down their own proteins for the subsequent synthesis of glucose. But before glucose is obtained, protein compounds break down into amino acids, which enter the liver, where the synthesis process takes place. It should be noted that synthesized natural glucose is very important for the whole organism.
During this period, muscle tissues consume a large amount of protein compounds, but, according to scientists, its amount cannot exceed 1% of the mass of the entire human body.
For athletes whose results are directly dependent on the ability to maintain optimal muscle mass, while subjecting the body to serious physical activity, they have to spend more protein compounds in order to maintain glucose levels in the body.
The smallest loss of protein for an athlete can be quite large. For the synthesis of muscle protein compounds, the levels of sugar and amino acid compounds in the body are of paramount importance. Protein begins to break down during fasting and during exercise.
According to recent studies, high levels of amino acids in the blood are nothing more than an "anabolizing" factor. The importance of the growth hormone synthesis process is not even worth talking about. It is this hormone that is most important in the restoration of muscle tissue and an increase in their mass. And it is amino acid compounds that have a special effect on the synthesis of somatropin.
The principles of assimilation of amino acids
When everything has become clear with the main processes in which amino acids are involved, you can proceed to discuss them. Without a doubt, nutritional supplements are not inherently medicines, but they have the same principles of assimilation.
Each biologically active agent taken orally goes through three phases, such as pharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, before it begins to affect the body.
The first phase (pharmaceutical) involves the dissolution of the drug to facilitate its passage through biological membranes. At the next stage (pharmacokinetic), the dissolved drug is absorbed, distributed, takes part in metabolic processes and is excreted from the body. The third stage (pharmacodynamic) is the effect that the agent has on the body.
Forms of amino acids
And now it's time to move on to considering all the forms of amino acid complexes that exist today.
Tablet form
In tablets, amino acids are mixed with a filler, which is a neutral substance (such as starch or glucose). To make it possible to transport amino acids into the intestine, it is necessary to split the tablet into tiny particles. After that, they dissolve in the fluids of the gastrointestinal tract.
Dissolution rate is the amount of time it takes for an agent to break down and then dissolve to a consistency that can be absorbed by the intestines. The drug is absorbed throughout the entire gastrointestinal tract, but the rate differs in different areas. In the oral cavity and stomach, the intensity of absorption is extremely low.
The rate of absorption in the duodenum significantly increases, however, the maximum values are still far away. But in the small intestine, the absorption process proceeds most rapidly. From here, proteins enter the body in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates - monosaccharides, and fats - as fatty acids and glycerin.
For obvious reasons, liquid preparations are absorbed much faster than solid preparations. Solid preparations first need to free the active substance from the filler, and then turn into a liquid or semi-liquid form.
These processes flow in the stomach, and their speed depends on the filler and the amount of fluid in the stomach. In addition, other factors affect the rate of dissolution, for example, acid-base balance.
Also, this parameter depends on the gender of the athlete, time of day and many others. For example, L-quarantine in tablet form will take about 40 minutes to begin to affect the body. As you can see, the first phase (pharmaceutical) for this form of drugs is quite long.
Liquid form
This form of drugs is highly concentrated (in this case, the drug should be diluted with water) or a ready-to-use amino acid solution. The liquid is much ahead of other forms in terms of the time of the onset of exposure to the body.
Capsule shape
Capsules are a hard shell made of gelatin or gel, inside of which the active substance is contained. It is worth noting that this form appeared in the 30s of the last century on the territory of France.
Currently, they are widely used in pharmacology. Gelatin tends to dissolve quickly in the gastrointestinal tract, which allows the active substances to be released more quickly. Accordingly, amino acids are transported to the intestine much earlier than if they were in the form of tablets. On average, this takes 10-25 minutes.
Watch a video about the use of amino acids in sports:
This is just one of the benefits of liquid nutritional supplements. This topic is quite extensive and requires a separate discussion.
